Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) has invited bids for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of 11 MW of solar power projects at its Panipat and Jhansi site for captive use in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

The projects will be installed in two phases, 5 MW under Schedule 1 of the tender at Karari Village in Jhansi and the remaining 6 MW under Schedule 2 at Baholi Village in Panipat.

The contractor will also be responsible for the project’s operation and maintenance (O&M) for ten years from the completion date of the defect liability period, which is 12 months after the project commissioning.

The last date to submit the bids is April 21, 2023. Bids will be opened on the same day.

Bidders must submit an earnest money deposit (EMD) based on the project for which they submit their bids. For the project in Jhansi, bidders must submit an EMD of ₹4.25 million (~$51,885), and for the project in Panipat, the EMD is ₹4.5 million (~$54,937).

If the bidder quotes for both projects, they must submit the sum of both EMD amounts, i.e., ₹8.75 million (~$106,821).

The successful bidders must also submit a performance bank guarantee of 3% of the EPC contract price within two weeks of receiving the letter of intent.

The contractors must complete the projects within seven months of receiving the letter of award.

In case of a delay, liquidated damages equivalent to 0.5% of the total EPC contract value will be applicable per week. A maximum of up to 5% of the total EPC contract value will be levied.

The average annual turnover during the last three financial years of bidders quoting for the Schedule 1 project must be ₹107.2 million (~$1.31 million), and for Schedule 2, it must be ₹132 million (~$1.61 million). For bidders quoting for both projects, the annual average turnover must be ₹239.2 million (~$2.92 million).

Bidders should have completed similar works on a turnkey basis in the last seven years for a ground-mounted solar project or projects of minimum capacity of 3 MW with or without the associated transmission line work and comprehensive maintenance for at least one year period.

For Schedule 1, bidders must have completed at least one similar work of ₹285.8 million (~$3.49 million) value or two similar works worth ₹178.7 million (~$2.18 million) or three similar works worth ₹142.9 million (~$1.74 million).

For Schedule 2, bidders must have completed at least one similar work worth ₹351.8 million (~$4.29 million) or two similar works worth ₹219.9 million (~$2.68 million) or three similar works worth ₹175.9 million (~$2.15 million).

For bidders submitting quotes for both projects, one similar work must be of ₹637.6 million (~$7.78 million) value, or two similar works must be worth ₹398.6 million (~$4.87 million), or three similar works must be worth ₹318.8 million (~$3.89 million).

Only Class I and Class II local suppliers will be eligible to submit their bids for the tender. Preference will be given to Class I local suppliers.

The contractors must maintain a minimum of 97% availability of the project to achieve the minimum generation guarantee at the end of each year during the O&M period. Every 1% fall in availability below the required amount will result in a penalty of 4% of the annual O&M charges.

In February 2023, HPCL invited expressions of interest from renewable energy companies or asset owners having absolute ownership of their assets to sell their solar, wind, and wind-solar hybrid assets with or without battery storage with a minimum capacity of 50 MW.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Tender Tracker, HPCL has issued 174 MW of solar tenders to date.